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Reopen Montgomery Grant Program

Applications have closed.

Reopen Montgomery Program grants reimburse Montgomery County businesses and nonprofits for expenses incurred to comply with State and County reopening requirements. Reopening requirements are established to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and maintain public health.

The County Council passed a special appropriation under Resolution 19-523 creating the Reopen Montgomery Program to provide grants of up to $5,000 per applicant. A total of $14M has been appropriated for this program to help County businesses reopen.

If you have questions about the Reopen Montgomery program, email [email protected].

Because of limited County funds and overwhelming demand, Montgomery County is encouraging businesses throughout the County to explore other forms of Federal and State assistance that may be available. Resources to assist in this search include:

Prepare to apply

  1. Review the Eligibility Requirements for the program.
  • If you have locations outside of Montgomery County, you will need to provide the following:
Proof that more than 50% of the business’ employees are located within Montgomery County — proof would consist of a “Certified Payroll Report”, signed and dated by an authorized officer of the company, meaning a list that includes for each employee on its payroll, a unique employee/position identifier number, the employee’s initials, and zip code of business location at which they work,
OR
Proof that more than 50% of the business' gross sales come from the Montgomery County location(s) – proof would consist of profit and loss statements broken down by location, sales tax reports by location, etc.
  1. Gather receipts for Allowable Expenses that have not been covered by other grants received from Montgomery County.
  2. Be sure to use the legal business name on your application.
  3. Check your taxpayer identification number and be sure it matches the legal business name.
  4. Locate a copy of your Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization to upload with your application (not required for Sole Proprietors).
  5. Be sure you are in "Good Standing" with the State of Maryland (does not apply to Sole Proprietors).
Follow these steps to determine whether your business is in "Good Standing":
  1. Go to Maryland Business Express
  2. In the "Business Quick Links" section, select "Business Entity Search".
  3. Enter your business name and select "Search".
  4. Your business will be listed if you are registered.
  5. Select your business and check under the General Information tab to verify that your business is in Good Standing. It is not necessary to order a copy of your certificate of good standing.

Eligibility Requirements

A business or non-profit organization (to include sole proprietors and independent contractors) is eligible to receive assistance from the Reopen Montgomery Program if it:

  1. has its physical location(s) only in the County; or its County-based locations account for more than 50% of the business’s total number of employees or 50% of the business’s gross sales;
  2. employs 100 or less full-time-equivalent employees ( how to calculate the number of full-time equivalent employees);
  3. has not received financial assistance from the County (including from the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation) for reopening expenses related to the COVID-19 health crisis; and
  4. has incurred “Reopening Reimbursable Expenditures,” as defined in Paragraph 9 of Council Resolution #19-523, between March 16, 2020, and 30 days following the date when the County starts Phase 3 reopening.

Allowable Expenses

Businesses may request a Reopen Montgomery grant to reimburse the following types of expenses:

  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Materials to create barriers, dividers, protected areas
  • Contactless payment systems
  • Cleaning supplies
  • Signage
  • Outdoor furniture, tents and heaters
  • Disposable food containers and utensils
  • Upgrades to HVAC systems needed to protect the health of customers and employees.

Required Documentation

Receipts for allowable expenses will be requested when applications are selected for review (credit card statements may be provided as proof of payment). Grant amounts will be based on actual, verified expenditures for each business and non-profit organization.

Applicants will be required to provide a copy of their Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization (not applicable for sole proprietors). 

Application Review Process

Executive staff will review applications based on a rolling random lottery system.

If an application is selected for review, the applicant will receive an email notification to upload required documentation to a secure server. If uploading is not possible, documentation will be requested by encrypted email. 

Applications that are not selected for review in a lottery will remain in the system and will be eligible for selection in a future lottery.

This process will continue until December 30 or funding is exhausted.